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In theaters Friday: Dead Silence, I Think I Love My Wife and Premonition.

New on DVD: Casino Royale, Harsh Times and The Holiday.

Celebrity birthday: Baton Rouge’s own Catherine Dent turns 42 today. Happy birthday, Cat! We love you on The Shield, now you need to get on the big screen a little more often. Seriously, do it. C’mon, do it!

This may come as a shock but over the next decade Chris Rock will become the "new" Woody Allen. I Think I Love My Wife will not be a groundbreaking film by any stretch, but it actually looks kind of funny and, most importantly mature. It looks more like an Allen comedy than Pootie Tang, and for Rock who’s career has been on the skids, that is a good thing. Like Allen, Rock directs the movie too, a loose adaptation of the Eric Rohmer’s 1972 French film Chloe in the Afternoon.

In recent interviews Rock has stressed his new motivation to take the art of film more seriously and to tackle adult subjects with less of the sophomoric humor that buoyed many of his past efforts. This is the perfect move for Rock. I can really see him making a career out of these types of relational comedies, more accessible but edgy taking on the Woody Allen template. Throw in this fall’s Seinfeld-penned Bee Movie, and Rock is on the comeback trail. Good for him. He’s made some terrible movies in the last five years, but on a personality level, I really like the guy. His Babe Ruth bit on David Letterman Monday night was hilarious.

Wow, this is frightening and overtly funny in a desperate sort of way. Media Bistro always keeps me in the loop, and this week, MeBi’s Susan Self goes off on "How to sell an awful film." That’s a lesson Hollywood must have learned or else, quite frankly, it would be out of business. Like any good program, there are 12 steps. If that lone copy of Road House 2: Last Call at Blockbuster has you curious, you should read up on how these B-movies get marketed. Check out #3 on the list…so true.

While few were looking, the New Orleans Film Fest pulled a P.Diddy and changed its name. Better call it the New Orleans Film Society, now. The incidental change actually points to something really cool as the society will be hosting year-round events and not just the annual fall film festival. Check it out here.

Newsflash: Maggie Gyllenhaal has replaced Level III Thetan-Class Maternity Unit Katie Holmes-Cruise in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight. And all the fanboys said "Amen."

And finally, lucky duck Quint over at Ain’t It Cool News got a big sneak peak at this summer’s Transformers. He gives a pretty detailed description of three scenes right here, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, skip this party.